Benefits of using Blockchain in the Real Estate Market
Real estate seems to grow with technology side by side. What uses can this new blockchain technology have that would benefit our real estate transactions?
By introducing blockchain to the Real Estate markets we will have the ability to cut costs drastically, by cutting out the middleman. The transparency and security it offers will also help prevent fraud, and create more solid, trustworthy transactions.
Currently, in order to sell real property, we use middlemen, generally called “Title Companies” and Escrow services.
In order to locate the history and complete records of the property, we need to have a title company search through thousands of documents kept at taxpayer supported, government entities. We are hopeful that they find everything associated with that property from the beginning of its existence. If/when something is misrecorded, it is often not found, therefore creating uncertainty in the market. With the introduction of blockchain technology, these title searches will be obsolete. We now have the ability for every record to be safely and securely stored, adding efficiency, and deleting the need for these services altogether.
Escrow is a trusted third-party that holds one parties money while the information gathered is guaranteed and insured by the other party. We will no longer need this service either since all of the information will already be transparent, trusted and secure on the blockchain. There will no longer be a need to hire an attorney just so that you can understand title and ownership issues. Real estate transactions will no longer need to drag on for days, weeks, or even months, and may be able to be transacted in minutes. You may need a bit more time to move all of your belongings out of your house first though.
Technology always surprises us and ends up changing our lives. The benefits here are obvious and we should embrace them. How quickly can we adapt to the inevitable? With the endless uses for this technology, blockchain is here to stay.